US National News

NATIONAL NEWS (ATLANTA, Ga.) -- Strategic Benefits Advisors, Inc. (SBA) has been recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of Atlanta's largest employee benefits and compensation companies of 2026. This is the eighth consecutive year SBA has made the Chronicle's annual list highlighting benefits consultants and brokers. Even as the number of benefits consultants and brokers in Atlanta fell 17% in 2026, according to the Chronicle, SBA held its position.

NATIONAL NEWS (HONG KONG) -- TopMediai today announced an upgrade to its AI Music Creation Studio. AI music generation remains at the center of the content-creation platform, while the updated workflow carries a song into cover production, language adaptation, music video creation, and artwork for release and promotion.

NATIONAL NEWS (NEW YORK, N.Y.) -- HitPaw, a leading provider of AI-powered creative tools, today announced the release of HitPaw FotorPea V5.7.0, featuring Pro Look, a new AI Recompose tool that automatically refines photo composition for more balanced, professional-looking results. This update also adds Beautify for one-click facial enhancement and updates some key AI models, making it easier for users to bring out the best in everyday photos with greater speed and precision.

NATIONAL NEWS (STUDIO CITY, Calif.) -- Kord Fire Protection is sharing guidance for California facility owners, engineers, contractors and fire protection professionals on inspection, testing and maintenance considerations for private fire hydrants and underground fire service piping.

NATIONAL NEWS (LOS ANGELES, Calif.) -- Fonelora Inc. today announced the launch of Fonelora Go, a mobile location simulation app for compatible iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, together with Fonelora Location Changer V2.0.0, the latest version of its Windows and Mac desktop software.

NATIONAL NEWS (RALEIGH, N.C.) -- Sokal, a full-service automotive advertising agency headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., today announced its expansion to more than ten OEM-certified partnerships, adding Stellantis and Nissan to its existing certifications with Kia, Mazda, Subaru, Hyundai, Acura, and INFINITI. Sokal is also now the largest advertising agency located within the Triangle, with over 150 advertising professionals in the area.

NATIONAL NEWS (SEATTLE, Wash.) -- Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced expanded support for investor loans, including debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) loans.

NATIONAL NEWS (WESTMINSTER, Colo.) -- The Industry Group (TIG) and the Kiosk Manufacturer Association (KMA) today highlighted recent work on accessibility, artificial intelligence, payments and self-service technology. The TIG/KMA Accessibility Committee met with the U.S. Access Board on Sept. 15 to discuss how accessibility must evolve .

NATIONAL NEWS (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) -- Industrial SalesLeads tracking for August 2026 identified 184 capital projects where packaging equipment is a procurement opportunity or where the operating company is a packaging manufacturer. Spanning more than 30 states and Canadian provinces, these projects range from single-facility equipment upgrades to multi-billion-dollar campus construction.

NATIONAL NEWS (HONG KONG) -- PoKeep today announced the launch of its new Pokémon GO Guide Hub, a centralized online resource designed to help Pokémon GO players find useful information and make faster in-game decisions. The hub brings together event updates, coordinate guides, calculators, gameplay explainers, product comparisons, and tutorials in a single, easy-to-navigate destination.

NATIONAL NEWS (HOUSTON, Texas) -- ViewTech Borescopes will exhibit this week at the 2026 Turbomachinery and Pump Symposia, showcasing advanced remote visual inspection solutions for pumps, compressors, turbines, and other critical rotating equipment. Among the featured technologies will be the VJ-4 3D Measurement video borescope, an inspection system that combines high-resolution imaging with 3D measurement capabilities.

NATIONAL NEWS (DENVER, Colo.) -- ACES Quality Management®, the leading provider of enterprise quality management and control software for the financial services industry, announced today the launch of ACES Population Testing™, which evaluates a financial institution's loan origination pipelines and servicing portfolios against its defined policies and identifies the records that warrant a reviewer's attention.

NATIONAL NEWS (NEW YORK, N.Y.) -- Ahead of the official debut of Originalive™, Luvme Hair is sharing a closer look at one of the ideas shaping its upcoming premium human hair collection: good hair should be judged by more than how soft, smooth, or shiny it feels when it is new.

NATIONAL NEWS (OAKLAND, Calif.) -- California Waste Solutions, Inc. (CWS) is approaching its 35th year as a leader in the international recycling, resource recovery and environmental infrastructure business with operations in California and Vietnam. Headquartered in Oakland, the company serves more than 343,000 customers across Oakland and San Jose and operates six Bay Area recycling facilities.

NATIONAL NEWS (NEW YORK, N.Y.) -- Tenorshare has just put out a detailed new guide that walks you through exactly how to transfer WhatsApp from Android to iPhone 18 Pro. The resource addresses common challenges with cross-platform WhatsApp transfers, including how to preserve chats and media when moving data to an already set up iPhone. It provides practical solutions to help users transfer their important WhatsApp data safely and avoid data loss during an iPhone upgrade.

NATIONAL NEWS (LOS ANGELES, Calif.) -- FineVoice today announced the launch of Aunio, an end-to-end AI audio production agent designed to help anyone create professional, publish-ready audio without a dedicated audio production team. Rather than generating individual audio assets in isolation, Aunio understands the content and context of a project and coordinates capabilities.

NATIONAL NEWS (LOS ANGELES, Calif.) -- Cloud 9 Inn LAX officially announces the completion of its extensive property rebranding and total guest room modernizations. Completed in August 2025, the top-to-bottom transformation establishes the hotel as the premier budget-friendly gateway for travelers, sports fans, and concertgoers visiting the booming Inglewood and Greater Los Angeles entertainment hubs.

NATIONAL NEWS (AUSTIN, Texas) -- FirstClose, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for home equity and mortgage lenders nationwide, announced today the launch of Lender Portal, a new workspace that lets loan officers manage borrower leads in one place, from initial contact through submission.

NATIONAL NEWS (GARDEN GROVE, Calif.,) -- Informative Research (IR), a leading technology provider of data-driven credit and verification solutions for the lending industry, today announced that Tim Cox has rejoined the IR leadership team as executive vice president of business process automation. In this role, Tim will apply his industry expertise to support the company and help its clients work more efficiently and intelligently.

NATIONAL NEWS (CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) -- Flottman Company, a family-owned legacy printing business established in 1921, announced the strategic addition of a Heidelberg SM 102-2-P offset press to its Northern Kentucky manufacturing facility. Installed in December 2025, the new press significantly expands overall production capacity and modernizes operational workflow through advanced automation to support client demand throughout the Greater Cincinnati region and nationwide.

NATIONAL NEWS (DES MOINES, Iowa) -- iEmergent, a forecasting and advisory services firm for the financial services, mortgage and real estate industries, today released a new analysis validating its 2025 forecasts against actual Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data. The analysis, which uses final 2025 HMDA data released by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council on June 23, 2026, spans every geographic level from national down to individual census tracts.

NATIONAL NEWS (NEW YORK, N.Y.) -- xcited for iOS 27, but some iPhone users asked, "Is there a way to remove iOS 27 from my iPhone?" The answer is yes. To remove iOS 27, it's common to either use iTunes/Finder in Recovery Mode or a professional iOS downgrade tool like Tenorshare ReiBoot, which supports a 1-click downgrade without data loss.

NATIONAL NEWS (NEW YORK, N.Y.) -- HitPaw, a leading provider of AI-powered creative solutions for video, photo, and audio enhancement, today announced the official launch of its 2026 Autumn Sale, running from September 14 through October 10, 2026. The seasonal promotion offers savings of up to 50% off across HitPaw's popular AI-powered creative tools, including video enhancement, photo enhancement, video conversion, voice changing, and watermark removal solutions.

NATIONAL NEWS (HONG KONG) -- Vimia Tech Limited today announced the launch of Vosko AI, an end-to-end video localization platform built for creators, educators, e-commerce teams, marketing teams, and businesses looking to expand their content to global audiences. Vosko AI helps keep the original speaker's voice, tone and emotion when dubbing videos into other languages.

NATIONAL NEWS (NEW CASTLE, Del.) -- CleverFiles announced the launch of Clever AI Detector, a free tool that checks text for signs of AI-generated writing, with no ads and no sign-up required. Clever AI Detector scans up to 10,000 words per run without requiring you to create or sign in to an account.

NATIONAL NEWS (TENAFLY, N.J.) -- 42DM, a B2B tech marketing agency specializing in go-to-market strategy for AI and SaaS companies, recently released "From Traffic to Pipeline: GTM Lessons from 100 Top AI Products," a benchmark study mapping which channels and signals correlate with revenue across 100 leading AI infrastructure companies.

NATIONAL NEWS (NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.) -- Argyle, the leading consumer-permissioned verification platform, today announced the launch of a new solution that enables wholesale mortgage lenders to extend income, employment, and asset verification across their broker networks with a broker-branded borrower experience. The solution is available through Argyle's Verification API as well as through Encompass® TPO Connect from ICE Mortgage Technology®.

NATIONAL NEWS (BATON ROUGE, La. and VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.) -- Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group LLC (Atlantic Bay) today announced the opening of its first Louisiana branch in Baton Rouge, extending its' presence across the South and giving Louisiana homebuyers access to a wide range of mortgage options, local expertise, and the technology and resources of an established lender.

NATIONAL NEWS (ORLANDO, Fla.) -- EnergyCAP®, the leading utility and energy management platform for public and private sector organizations, announced Insights, a new capability to their energy and utility management platform, that brings reporting, alerting and prioritization together so energy teams can focus on what's most important. The announcement came at Catalyst Converge, the company's 20th annual conference where energy, facilities, finance and sustainability teams are gathered for three days of learning, collaboration, and product innovation.

NATIONAL NEWS (AUSTIN, Texas) -- Zeteo Biomedical LLC today announced the expansion of its ZTECH-P™ powder drug-delivery platform into pulmonary delivery with the introduction of AriesMR™, a reloadable active dry powder inhaler designed for controlled pulmonary administration of pharmaceutical powders without reliance on patient-generated inspiratory energy for powder aerosolization or the use of CFC/HFA propellants.

NATIONAL NEWS (ESTERO, Fla.) -- Naples Flatbread Kitchen & Bar has launched a top-to-bottom reinvention of its menu on Monday, September 14 at Miromar Outlets - the heart of a rebrand built on one promise - seriously Italian, never serious. Guests have taken to calling it "the fun Italian," and the family-run restaurant is happy to wear it: authentic Italian ingredients, none of the formality.

NATIONAL NEWS (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) -- Industrial SalesLeads announced today the August 2026 results for its planned capital project spending report for the Food and Beverage industry, tracking North American facility expansions, new plant construction, and significant equipment modernization projects. The Firm's research team confirmed 63 new planned projects in the Food and Beverage sector during August.

NATIONAL NEWS (OAKLAND, Calif.) -- David Duong, the charismatic entrepreneur whose family built California Waste Solutions after arriving in San Francisco as refugees, is the star of a new documentary, "The King of Trash," that has drawn strong reviews and is now returning to California theaters. Tickets for Bay Area and San Jose showings sold out in August after heavy demand from movie-goers and the local community.

NATIONAL NEWS (BROOKLYN, N.Y.) -- Power Roofing NYC, a licensed roof repair and roof replacement contractor that works in all five boroughs, has put out a winter roof prep checklist for New York homeowners and building owners. The checklist is short and free, and it comes straight from crews who have repaired, replaced or installed more than 2,300 roofs across the city since 2010.

NATIONAL NEWS (BETHESDA, Md.) -- In advance of National Postdoc Appreciation Week, the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) introduced the six members of its Class of 2027 IMPACT Fellowship Program (IMPACT). The sixth IMPACT cohort consists of postdoctoral scholars from a diverse range of backgrounds and research disciplines who will engage in a 16-month program designed to provide comprehensive personal and professional development.

NATIONAL NEWS (RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif.) -- Mezzo, creator of the mortgage industry's first one-to-many operating architecture for third-party services, today announced an integration with Vesta, the AI-native loan origination system (LOS) and agent platform built to automate and accelerate mortgage operations. Mezzo launches with a single gateway across verification providers.

NATIONAL NEWS (LOS ANGELES, Calif.) -- Novak Doors and Gates, a licensed and insured electric gate repair and installation company serving Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, today announced expanded same-day electric and automatic gate repair coverage across the city, with dedicated crews for West Los Angeles and Hollywood alongside its established service in Santa Monica, Brentwood, Venice, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana and Pasadena.

NATIONAL NEWS (CHICAGO, Ill.) -- ViewTech Borescopes, a leading provider of remote visual inspection solutions, will exhibit at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) 2026, taking place September 14-19 at McCormick Place in Chicago. At the largest manufacturing show in the Western Hemisphere, ViewTech will showcase its latest innovation, the new VJ-4 3D Video Borescope.

NATIONAL NEWS (BELLEVUE, Wash.) -- Global Artists Collective presents two free events featuring the award-winning band Global Heat this September in Bellevue's BelRed Arts District. Both events are supported by a project grant from Bellevue Arts & Culture, City of Bellevue, to Global Artists Collective.

NATIONAL NEWS (ONTARIO, Canada) -- Soap Opera Magazine, a digital publication covering American daytime television, has been named the No. 1 soap opera news website of 2026 by entertainment publication High on Films. In its newly published ranking, "The 5 Best Soap Opera News Sites Online in 2026," High on Films placed Soap Opera Magazine first among five major outlets covering the daytime television industry.

NATIONAL NEWS (NOVI, Mich.) -- Vice Capital Markets, a leading mortgage hedge advisory firm for independent lenders, banks and credit unions, today announced that its capital markets platform now supports the inclusion of VantageScore™ credit scores on mortgage bid tapes, providing lenders and investors with greater visibility into loan-level credit characteristics during the secondary market execution process.

NATIONAL NEWS (SEATTLE, Wash.) -- Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced its integration to the Freddie Mac Income Calculator API. Lenders can now determine calculated monthly income for wage earners, including borrowers with variable income, in minutes while helping preserve eligibility for certain representation and warranty (R&W) relief tied to the income calculation.

NATIONAL NEWS (PLANO, Texas) -- Optimal Blue today announced its initial speaker lineup for its 2027 Optimal Blue Summit, including Analyst, ESPN Monday Night Football, 3-Time Super Bowl-Winning Quarterback, Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman. The third annual event shaping what's next in mortgage will take place February 1-3, 2027 at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz.

NATIONAL NEWS (COLOGNE, Germany) -- JUNYUN LIMITED, the company behind LagoFast, today shared highlights from LagoFast's participation in gamescom 2026. Bringing years of game acceleration experience to the exhibition, LagoFast showcased network optimization, FPS features and gaming utilities designed to support more stable connections and smoother PC gameplay.

NATIONAL NEWS (BATON ROUGE, La.) -- Safety Alert Patrol (SAP), a national nonprofit that connects vetted, retired military veterans and law enforcement officers with schools and churches as trained, free security guardians, today announced a formal partnership with Safe Hiring Solutions (SHS), a professional background screening firm whose advisory board includes former FBI, U.S. Secret Service, and U.S. Navy SEAL leadership.

NATIONAL NEWS (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) -- Industrial SalesLeads announced today that momentum in the Industrial Manufacturing sector continues to build, with August 2026 marking the fourth consecutive month of steady growth in planned capital project activity. Following an upward trend through May, June and July, August saw 160 new planned industrial projects tracked across North America. These projects include new facility construction, expansions and equipment modernization.

NATIONAL NEWS (TEMPE, Ariz.) -- Cloudnium LLC today announced that its Phoenix-area data center at 1005 W Geneva Drive in Tempe is now accepting new colocation deployments, with capacity ranging from single-server placements and locking cabinets to full racks and private caged environments. The facility is positioned for enterprises, hosting providers, infrastructure operators and Neo-Cloud deployments that need flexible space, power and network options in the Phoenix market.

NATIONAL NEWS (PHOENIX, Ariz.) -- Fairway Home Mortgage and the Kanyur Reverse Team are proud to announce the opening of a new branch location in Phoenix, Arizona. The new office, located at 11811 N. Tatum Blvd., Suite 1002, Phoenix, AZ 85028, represents an exciting milestone in the team's continued commitment to serving homeowners throughout Arizona with specialized retirement lending solutions.

NATIONAL NEWS (NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.) -- Argyle, the leading consumer-permissioned verification platform, today announced an expanded integration with Tidalwave, an agentic AI platform that automates the full U.S. mortgage lifecycle from application through closing. Argyle and Tidalwave partnered in 2025 to embed Argyle's verification of income and employment (VOIE) solution into Tidalwave's borrower workflow through payroll connectivity.

NATIONAL NEWS (ADDISON, Texas) -- Click n' Close, a multi-state mortgage lender, today announced that mortgage industry veteran Blake Priest has joined the company as director of whole loan trading. In this role, Priest will lead the company's scratch and dent purchasing, giving correspondent partners another outlet for loans that fall outside traditional investor guidelines.

NATIONAL NEWS (SANTA ROSA, Calif.) -- Rotary District 5130 will carry the World Polio Torch through communities across Northern California from October 2 through October 24, 2026, raising awareness and support for Rotary's decades-long commitment to eradicate polio worldwide.

NATIONAL NEWS (ATLANTA, Ga.) -- As GLP-1 receptor agonist medications continue to revolutionize metabolic health and weight management worldwide, healthcare providers and patients are observing a frequent, distressing side effect: sudden, widespread hair shedding. Biotin Xtreme Hair Care - a leader in clean hair restoration founded by veteran salon specialists with over 30 years of clinical expertise - today announced the official rollout of its Natural Scalp Support Program for Post-Weight Loss Hair Thinning.

NATIONAL NEWS (PLANO, Texas) -- Optimal Blue today released its August 2026 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which found that mortgage activity continued to soften in August even as rates leveled off. Total rate-lock volume declined 9% month over month (MoM) and slipped 3% below August 2025 levels. Purchase lock volume fell 10% from July but remained 6% higher year over year (YoY), with purchase loans accounting for nearly 81% of total lock volume.

NATIONAL NEWS (BUDA, Texas) -- Taste on Main, a longtime Buda restaurant, is evolving into an Italian Steakhouse concept pairing Texas beef with classic Italian flavors. The restaurant embraces the new Italian direction, while preserving its celebrated steaks, East Coast oyster bar, and craft cocktail program. The transformation of the dining room is underway, culminating in the official launch of TasTe Italian Steakhouse on September 24.

NATIONAL NEWS (ONTARIO, Canada) -- Soap Opera Magazine, a leading digital publication covering daytime television, today announced the nominees for the first annual Maggie Awards, a new honors program recognizing outstanding performances and storytelling across all five American daytime dramas. The Maggies celebrate work that aired during the 2025 calendar year, and every winner will be chosen by fan vote. Winners will be announced October 1, 2026.

NATIONAL NEWS (LA MESA, Calif.) -- In March 2025, LegalizeFerrets.org filed Form FGC-1 with the California Fish and Game Commission - the formal petition, under Government Code §11340.6, asking the state to reconsider its classification of domestic ferrets as restricted wild animals under Title 14, §671. Preparing it properly took considerable effort. The Commission accepted it as Petition 2025-003.

NATIONAL NEWS (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) -- Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter), an innovative leader in mortgage technology, today announced it has expanded its leadership team with two experienced executives: Salvatore Piccola as senior vice president of product strategy and Gil Valera as vice president of professional services. The additions strengthen two areas central to Dark Matter's growth strategy: innovation focused on using AI to improve customer experience, help lenders realize efficiencies, and drive seamless implementation and adoption of its product capabilities.

NATIONAL NEWS (LAS VEGAS, Nev.) -- Southern Nevada's premier electrical contractor, Ampere Electric, has been honored with the Outstanding Advertising Performance Award by RSVP Las Vegas Advertising using a targeted mailer to the top 30% of homeowners in the Las Vegas Valley. This accolade recognizes the company's exceptional results in an 18-month advertising campaign that successfully closed over $4 million in new business matched back to the targeted mailer.

NATIONAL NEWS (ST. CLOUD, Minn.) -- Planning is underway for Inspiration Space Port, a year-round family destination that will place Shuttle Inspiration, a full-scale Space Shuttle mock-up, inside a towering 300-foot-wide, 175-foot-tall dome. Wrapped in a spectacular LED exterior, the dome will become a glowing beacon on the Minnesota skyline-a new landmark visible for miles.

NATIONAL NEWS (AUSTIN, Texas) -- FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for home equity and mortgage lenders nationwide, announced today that John Aslanian, chief revenue officer, has been named a 2026 HousingWire Vanguard. The award recognizes C-level executives across mortgage, real estate and homebuilding for leadership that has driven measurable impact on their organizations and the broader housing economy over the past year.

NATIONAL NEWS (PROVO, Utah) -- Thread wrapped a three-month graduation campaign by sending four members of the Class of '26, along with the people who got them there, on a trip to the Big Island, Hawaii. The campaign, which ran from April 6 through July 2, invited thousands of graduates to enter online and on college campuses for a chance to win. No purchase required. No paid influencers. The entire $19,000 budget went to boxes filled with goodies and the trip itself.

NATIONAL NEWS (CHICAGO, Ill.) -- What does a child do when an entire Saturday stretches out ahead with endless possibilities? In "A Perfect Saturday.., almost" (ISBN: 978-0228802990, released by Tellwell Publishing), author and retired educator Dave Jones, PsyD, takes young readers on a lively journey through one child's ambitious plans for a bright springtime day and everything that does, and almost does, happen along the way.

NATIONAL NEWS (SEATTLE, Wash.) -- Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced that its Founder and CEO Theo Ellis has been honored with HousingWire's 2026 Vanguard Award.

NATIONAL NEWS (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) -- Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter), an innovative leader in mortgage technology, today announced that Vikas Rao, chief executive officer, has been named a 2026 HousingWire Vanguard. Rao recognized for transforming Dark Matter and opening new ways for lenders to build, integrate and deploy AI.